Catching up.....

I haven’t blogged in awhile. I do better with things like Facebook because it is quick and I don’t have a lot of long blocks of time on my hands. But let me catch you all up….

Spring still hasn’t really come. It was -10 with the windchill over night and is only +5 today. I am sooooooo tired of cold weather, more so this year than when I am working because I am itching to get out walking with the boys everyday. We have been sick for almost a month now with chest colds, strep, and head colds. I need it to end. Yesterday Andrew and Maggie were out running errands and theboys and I were on the bed feeling pretty miserable from our colds. I looked over and they had both passed out within about 2 minutes.



Our good friend Denise and her daughter Lexi came for 2 weeks at the end of April. Lexi was born 4 days before the boys and we were VERY excited to meet her. The three babies seemed quite happy with each other. Denise and I had lots of good chats, went for some walks with the babies in their chariots, and cooked a turkey dinner complete with salt beef and bread pudding (this made Andrew VERY happy).

Lachlan and Malcolm are almost 8 months old now. They’ve had all the veggies and fruits they are allowed to try (due to family allergies) as well as some meats. I make a fair amount of their food myself. Malcolm still likes it pureed, but Lachlan prefers chunkier stuff, otherwise he spits the entire time he eats. Sweet potatoes and pears are their favorites. Malcolm is very laid back, easy going and tidy. Lachlan is quite energetic with a twinkle in his eye, is always going and is not quite so tidy. Hmmmm……sounds like they each take after one of their parents. They are both easy babies who rarely cry, and are full of giggle and smiles. They are starting to sit unassisted and both wave. LOVE the waving. The also say “da da”. My favourite thing is when they get each other giggling, I LOVE it. They are great sleepers and are finally napping at the same time in the morning and afternoons. Lachlan usually needs a cat nap after supper as well.

Malcolm after eating:



And Lachlan:



Silly boys:



Maggie is doing well. She just competed in Territorials at gymnastics for the first time. The gymnasts compete for personal bests and Maggie earned two silvers for bars and beam, and two bronzes for vault and floor. She was awarded a beautiful trophy. If you were to ask her, she would say the most exciting thing that has happened in her life lately is the fact that she no longer has to wear winter gear. Here she is in her spring outdoor clothes. Happy girl!



Our friends Ralph and Kirsten and their son Cullen welcomed Ayralee Frances to their family two weeks ago. We were blessed to host a shower here for them this past week to celebrate her arrival. I would love to post pics from that but let me tell you, throwing a shower in the midst of a rotten head cold with 7 month old twins does not afford time for picture taking. Our friends Danny, Tara and their daughter Ella welcomed Nolan John this past week in Edmonton as well.

Andrew can’t wait for school to be out. This has been a really long year for him. He went to Calgary for 4 days last week for a conference and took in the new Star Trek movie (twice) and got to spend an evening with my family there. Lucky guy! That was the night I stood waiting in the emergency room for 6 hours to be seen with my three children. The next day was Mother’s Day – I spent it on the floor of the living room with strep throat trying to take care of the kids. Andrew got home at 11 pm that night. So much for my first Mother’s Day with twins. I am fairly certain I get a do-over one of these days.

Our 12th wedding anniversary was last weekend but we spent it at the gym for Territorials. We arrived home Sunday evening to a delicious anniversary dinner dropped off to us from our friend MF. We had planned to go out to celebrate this weekend as two wonderful friends from work offered to babysit, but we are still quite sick. Hopefully in a few weeks we will get out on a date. We haven’t been out since….wow, I have no recollection of that so I think it has been over a year.

As for me, I am enjoying my babies because they grow too fast and I can’t even think about going back to work in October. I will leave that to worry about when the times comes. I have busy days with them and am constantly trying to keep the laundry up and re-organize things so we can fit in this space easier.

I really hope summer is coming soon. We have lots of company headed our way and can’t wait! Hope you are all well. Please resist the urge to tell me how warm it is where you live.

Until next time……

A year ago and a year from now....

One year ago yesterday we found out we were having twins. Boy, was that a SHOCKER. I will never forget it as long as I live. I am glad I did not know then all that we would go through this past year. I would have been petrified (okay, I was petrifed when they told us twins but I would have really been over the edge if I knew the rest...). At least it did explain my rapidly expanding tummy at only 9 weeks along. The weekend before we found out, my friend Tara had told me I looked like I was having twins. Ha - that was a funny phone call when I called to tell her she was right! Anyway, here we are a year later and I wouldn't trade these two little guys for anything in the world. I love our little family. I love watching Maggie with her brothers, she is absolutely amazing and completely in love with them. I spent this past Thanksgiving in the NICU and remember feeling so alone as Maggie and Andrew had left the day before and the boys were not doing well at all. I was gripped by fear that day. We have come a long way and I am so thankful to all be together for Easter.

As for a year from now.....I look forward to seeing our boys in action. They will be 18 months old. I think we will be tired. Probably a lot more tired than we are right now. More importantly, a year from now I am looking forward to something else. We have both a dear friend and a precious cousin battling cancer. I hate cancer. But I know that the God who saved my boys has it all under control. And I trust Him. So next year at this time, I look forward to looking back and understanding God's grace and faithfulness even more than I do now. And to those of you struggling.....keep the faith, what a difference a year makes!

DNA Results, Spring Fever and an Airfare War

In case you haven't heard, the boy's DNA tests came back and they are IDENTICAL! That is the exciting news around here this week.

There is an airfare competition going on with Air Canada, WestJet, First Air and Cdn North. Flights from Calgary or Edmonton to YK are $75 one way. We are hoping for some guests to come and see us. We know Papa is coming in July and we hope Grandma comes, too. Shannon, Ernie & the girls will be here at the end of July, and a dear friend may be coming up in June - fingers crossed!

We are on the cusp of spring. It hit 0 degrees yesterday so we took the boys for a walk after supper. There was a windchill so they were bundled and slept the entire half hour we walked.



Here is Malcolm after our walk:

And theboys after we came back in the house:

Maggie is doing great. She had a friend sleep over for the first time on March break. She is happy to be back at school and is speaking French beautifully. Here she is in a little outfit she put together the other night in anticipation of Easter:

The boys have a cold this week. We need to all be healthy for their dedication and shower at church this Sunday.

That's all the news from around here.....

March Break Update

So things have not quite progressed as planned. About 10 minutes after I posted about all our March break plans I broke my toe. My foot got stuck in this toy:

Unfortunately, as I fell my foot remained stuck in it and I was heading straight for Lachlan so I veered to the right so I didn't crush him and the toe snapped in two. Man, does it ever hurt. It has been a week now and it still hurts. My doctor said it will take 6 weeks to heal. *sigh* Maggie does an excellent re-enactment of the fall. Anyway, so much for sledding, skating, etc.

On a good note, the Missoula Children's Theatre came to Yellowknife for the week (check them out at: http://www.mctinc.org/tour) and Maggie auditioned and got a part. She was in rehearsals all week and performed at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre at 3 pm and 7 pm today. She has had a fabulous week and is quite sure she wants to be an actress.

Nanny Bonnie is here from Halifax and has been helping us out this week and she has been a God-send. The boys are QUITE taken with her.

I got to slip out for a burger with Judy and Flo from work Thursday night. It was nice to get caught up and Judy truly did introduce me to the best burger in Yellowknife.

So for next week.....we will attempt to paint the living room. The boys have OT and their 6 month Dr's appt and will be introduced to cereal. Hooray! We also need to set up the second crib and move the one in our room down to the nursery so they can each sleep in their own crib. The boys are getting too big and are whacking and scratching each other in their sleep and then the wailing begins. I am nervous to not have them in our room but I will give it a shot.

Maggie will be having a friend sleep over for the first time. She is really excited about that.

I love our two week March break, even with a broken toe.

March Break!

March break begins today - hooray! Unfortunately, I seem to be coming down with a cold. I have managed to avoid the 2 colds the boys have had as well as Maggie's colds this winter but I think my luck has run out. Ah well. Mags is home today and Andrew is off once he does parent teacher interviews today so I guess it is as good a time as any....

The boys are 5.5 months old now and weigh 16.5 lbs. They have been going to Occupational Therapy for 6 weeks now and are doing great! They are no longer hating tummy time and Lachlan is rolling over. Here they are checking out their cool tummy time pyramid from Peter and Danielle:



And here is Malcolm, tired from all that work!

I couldn't help but post this adorable picture of Malcolm's chubby little legs (check out the line on his leg from his socks):

We have lots of fun planned for March break: sledding, swimming, skidooing, catching up on a few movies and painting the living room. And we'll be joining Lachlan for a little bit of this:

Happy March everyone!

We made it through February.

Wow, I found February long, dark and cold. So glad that is behind us. We are still months from spring here but I always play a little head game with myself and pretend April is spring here.

Andrew just finished report cards yesterday. Maggie is busy with tap dance, gymnastics and school. Last Saturday some wonderful friends from work hosted a baby shower for us. It sure was nice to celebrate the boys and catch up with my co-workers. I am so blessed to work with such amazing people.

The boys are good, they are just getting over their second cold. Lachlan ended up on a ventolin puffer. Malcolm has cut his first tooth, and the boys turned 5 months old yesterday. They go to Occupational Therapy twice a week but are on a 2 week hiatus as their therapist is away. They are working on their neck strength. We do their exercises three times a day. They are finally succeeding at tummy time.

We have a busy week this week. Bonnie arrives from Halifax to stay with Danielle and the girls for the month, the boys have their monthly doctor's appt Tuesday and their monthly RSV shot on Friday, Maggie is in a talent show and has a school dance, and I am going to attempt to take the boys to a play date with some other moms.

Well, Maggie is home and I need to make supper. It is warm today, -12 so I am heading out for a walk by myself as soon as Andrew gets home from work this evening.

Splish splash I was takin' a bath....

We are all doing well and are in a good routine. We start our day around 9 a.m. and cycle through eating, playing, and sleeping every 3 hours til 6 p.m. I try to get a few things done during naptime. The boys get very excited at 4 p.m when Maggie gets home from school. There is a lot of kicking, squealing and smiling going on! Then the boys usually have a short cat nap after their 6 p.m. feed and then they play with Daddy and have tummy time. Lachlan is trying hard to get his head up at tummy time and Malcolm enjoys lying on his tummy and resting! We end our day with bathtime, which, as you can see, both boys LOVE. Maggie is a great help. She loves to entertain and hold her brothers. After we tuck her in to bed at 8 p.m., the boys each have a warm bottle and are asleep between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

Our days are busy yet monotonous. I try to get out once a week with the boys and try to have someone over for a visit once a week as well. Maggie and I go out together one evening a week, just us girls. This week the boys have their Occupational Therapy assessment at the hospital as well as 4 shots each at Public Health. Poor little guys.

I CANNOT wait for spring so we can get out walking in our double stroller.

And for those of you who are wondering, that is Lachlan in the top picture, and Malcolm on the bottom.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!